Mitch Albom is correct that “We’re wacko in how we view Jacko[2]” (June 28). But not all of us are wacko. I, for one, am no more touched by Mr. Jackson’s death than I am by the death of any of the thousands of other Americans who died last week, all of whom – like Mr. Jackson – are strangers to me and to the vast majority of people now so self-indulgently and flamboyantly grieving for a man they never met.

Americans’ proclivity to mass hysteria causes me to want government to have as little power as possible. I neither can nor wish to stop other persons from doing with their lives as they wish. But I also damn sure despise the fact that, through their votes, so many persons prone to such childish sentiments and displays have a say in how I lead my life.